1. Field of the invention
It is well understood by stockmen or ranchers raising cattle in open flat country where there is very little natural windbreaks for cattle, that is it desirable to provide some type of windbreak. In such open country, where there are no windbreaks for livestock and the ground is frozen or covered with snow and the wind chill index is in the minus readings extra feed needs to be provided for livestock for survival Further, the requirement of extra feed is greatly reduced where a windbreak is provided, either natural or man-made. In consideration of the soil or pasture, particularly if it is hay-raising soil, it is desirable to move the feeding station from time to time to prevent undue damage to the dormant hay producing vegetation. Therefore it is desirable that a hay feeder and shelter be provided which may be moved by a pick-up truck, or the like, from one location to another. This invention provides such a feeder-shelter.
2. Description of the Prior art
Range cattle feeders are well known and have generally comprised a mobile vehicle which contains a quantity of hay either loose or baled with slats or grating surrounding the hay permitting animal access to the hay. Such a unit may contain several relatively small bales of hay which provides some windbreak for the animals until the hay has been consumed.
Other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,609 discloses a multiple ring concentric open frame device which contains, in the innermost central ring a jumbo size bale of hay with the outer ring framework providing a space through which the animals extend their head and neck for eating hay from the bale. This prevents waste of hay by the excess hay falling from the animal's mouth into the area between the rings of the frame where it may be reached by the animals and not be trampled under foot.
The most pertinent patent is believed to be U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,524 which discloses a partially enclosed feeder and shelter having a hay loft under an overlying roof with grating at one end of the hay rack permitting feed to be obtained by an animal when within the shelter. This device is primarily intended for hay baled in relatively small, rectangular bales which are manually placed in the hay loft under the roof.
This invention is distinctive over this and other similar feeder shelter patents by providing a rectangular open framework shelter having one side closed to provide a windbreak and an overhead frame rack area for storing a plurality of superposed jumbo size hay bales to be individually fed to the livestock by successively rolling the hay bales off the overhead rack as the respective bale is consumed.